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Actor RonPerlman told Comics2Film that his career has been like a pinball game."I just basically bounce from onepiece of good fortune to another," the baritone actor said in an interview conductedlast week.
That first bitof good fortune may have been landing the role of Vincent in the legendarylate-80's TV series Beauty & The Beast. Perlman's performancein the show left an indelible mark on the psyche of fandom and has lead to a constantstream of work leading up to the upcoming Blade 2.
Perlman told ushe was approached to appear in Blade 2 by the film's director,Guillermo del Toro. "I did his first film called Cronos and we becamelifelong pals. I like to think so anyway. Guillermo may have something to sayabout that," Perlman quipped. "Aside from being a brilliant, brilliant filmmaker he's a great guy.
"When he secured the task of developing and directingBlade 2 he asked if I wouldn'tmind if he wrote something for me, which he ended up fulfilling. So, who was Ito say no?"
Perlman playsReinhardt, an imposing and militaristic member of the vampire bloodpack thatBlade must ally himself with in the movie. "He's a professionalsoldier," Perlman said of Reinhardt. "He's the head of the elite guard that servesDamaskinos, theemperor of the vampire world. So he's thekind of guy you'd see running along side the presidential cavalcade. He's a guy whose been trained to take one for the team, ifneed be. He's really good at what he does and he's a vampire."
Although thepart was written for him, Perlman and Del Toro continued to develop thecharacter throughout the production. "Reinhardt became a great deal more in the making of the film than he was onthe page," Perlman said. "He emerged more as the leader of this group than he was originallyarticulated simply because the look that Guillermo and the costume people gavehim was really strong. He looked like the most formidable guy in the bloodpack.
"As I started to playing him he had a very, very stealthy, strong silence to him,which they decided to augment as the filming went on. So the character'simportance grew and grew, in a very organic way. A lot of the stuff that endedup getting shot was thought of on the hoof."
Blade 2was filmed on a tight schedule in Prague last year. Although some reportsindicated that it was a tough shoot, Perlman said he enjoyed his time spentthere. "I found Prague to be very civilized and a cool place to be whenone wasn't at work. It's a very happening city," Perlman said. "I've worked on, personally, a lot of movies that are much more physicallydemanding. I think that if you ask Wesley you'll get a different response.
"Hedoes major fighting in this film where he pulls out every bit of knowledge thathe has, which is formidable in terms of his martial arts skill. Whereas I justkind of like...I pulled a gun every once in a while." Perlman told C2Fthat his fighting style in the movie is, "morewestern than eastern and more brawn than finesse."
Perlman tells usthat we can expect a Blade 2 that is as well-directed as humanlypossible. "There're some amazing action sequences that are just like non-stoproller coaster rides, from beginning to end," Perlman said. "I haven't seen the film yet but I saw a lotof the sequences that were cut together in a very raw state and they were rockand roll, really rock and roll. I asked to see them again when he got doneshowing them because they were so cool. It's not 'In the Bedroom.' It's an action adventure sci-fi movie and I think itlives up to those criteria in a very big way."
The actorcredits the director with putting together an exciting movie. "Guillermo is just an amazing director ofaction which I think is going to be a surprise to the world because Idon't think he's ever employed that side of himself on anything prior to this."
Working with DelToro again was one of the attractions for the actor. "I just so enjoy performing forGuillermo because I know that he has a great eye," Perlman said. "If he sees something that helikes and prints it, you know its good. I trust him probably more than any otherdirector I've ever worked for. That's a real luxury for an actor."
Perlman hopes towork with Del Toro again on the big-screen version of Mike Mignola's Hellboy.The director has long championed Perlman as his first and only choice for thelead in that film.
"I don't even have words to describe what that kind of loyalty anddevotion means to me," Perlman said of Del Toro's commitment. "It's one of the great, great events of my professional life, to have that kindof devotion and loyalty emanating from somebody who is as accomplished as he is."
The actor ishopeful that Hellboy will happen. "It's a phenomenal project. The adaptation that Guillermo wrote based on thecomic book just totally nails it. It's so cool and so theatrical. That would behuge fun to play that characters and a great honor because he's a phenomenalsuper hero."
After Blade2 fans can look for Perlman in Star Trek: Nemesis. Theactor recent wrapped work on that movie in which he plays a villainous charactercalled The Viceroy. "He's from the planet Remus which isthe sister planet of Romulus. We've seen Romulans in the Star Trek canon butwe've never seen Remans until now. So it's kind of a new breed."
Perlman tells usthat he is also poised to launch his own production company, an effort that'sbeen brewing for three years. In the mean time, the pinball will keep bouncingbetween roles in cool genre movies. "I'm just lucky that they ask. Usually all it takes to get me is to ask."
Don't forget toenter Comics2Film's Blade 2 giveaway. You could win a Blade2 poster or a DVD of the original Blade. Visit our specialCountdown To Blade 2 pageand take a stab at winning!
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